Double mistake: The Retro City Rampage review lists the first Grand Theft Auto as a 1991 (!) release, and that game's review on the PlayStation page says 2001 (which is when the third game came out on the PS2). The correct year is 1998.

I wish I had more to say about the reviews themselves, but neither game especially interests me, and they don't seem to have done too much for you either.

I got Retro City Rampage for cheap—I think with the Humble Nintendo bundle—and really wanted to like it, but I felt the exact same way you did. Very stylish, but not fun to play. I didn’t make it too far in it.

You nailed it on Retro City Rampage. It may be the only 8-bit themed game where the presentation and intentional humor blow away the actual gameplay.

As for Tekken...

Why is it an issue whenever a game features a cast as diverse as the neighborhood I live in? It's utterly mad to think a worldwide martial arts tournament with ridiculously over the top prizes wouldn't attract a bit of everyone. One of the things I love most about the genre, is that it tries to give the player as many options as possible, even if it means a few will feel like they're just checking off a list. (Like that hasn't been a problem since the beginning? C'mon, Law is just Bruce Lee with the serial numbers filed off.)

Still, even as a fan of the franchise, agreed that the real problem with Tekken is that it hasn't a creative bone left in it's body - once you've played any game in the series, you know all the in-jokes by heart. But comparing it to the first game? C'mon, that's a cheap shot. The first game is just an outline of what was to come. It's stiff and clunky - your options are limited, and there's not much room to develop your own style.

Modern Tekken is more like playing New Super Mario Bros for the DS, 3DS, and Wii. A love letter to itself, just going through all the motions, with the bare minimum of tweaks to separate itself from the legendary 3rd game in the series.

I'm going to end up buying it anyways, because I love arcade style fighting games, but I almost feel dirty for doing so. I may disagree with some of the details of your review, but not the spirit...

I think that it is good to reference the first game in your review as it has essentially not changed since that ground breaking title. They should go back to that one and see the player mechanic which was insane. It just worked so well. I think that is the game that made the ps1 the success it was. Namco were king and could do no wrong. Now however it is a different time and the concept of the fighting games is very dated. I liked how your review managed to say all the above succinctly. I never fancied Retro city at all. Think it is out of the xbox and I just looked at it and was not impressed. If it goes to gwg i will play it but that is the only way I am going to get to play it.